Directing

Elia Kazan

Born September 7, 1909 · Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey]

Died September 28, 2003 · aged 94

Elia Kazan ( September 7 , 1909, Kayseri – September 28, 2003) was a Greek-American director and actor, described as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". He also produced, and wrote screenplays and novels. Born in the Kayseri, Ottoman Empire to Greek parents, they emigrated to New York when he was four. After two years studying acting at Yale, he a…

Known For

East of Eden

East of Eden · 1955

In the Salinas Valley in and around World War I, Cal Trask feels he must compete against overwhelming odds with his brother for the love of their father. Cal is frustrated at every turn, from his reaction to the war, how to get ahead in business and in life, and how to relate to his estranged mother.

A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire · 1951

A Streetcar Named Desire

MovieDramaThriller

A disturbed, aging Southern belle moves in with her sister for solace — but being face-to-face with her brutish brother-in-law accelerates her downward spiral.

On the Waterfront

On the Waterfront · 1954

On the Waterfront

MovieCrimeDrama

A prizefighter-turned-longshoreman with a conscience goes up against labor leaders to expose corruption, extortion, and murder among the union ranks.

Splendor in the Grass

Splendor in the Grass · 1961

Splendor in the Grass

MovieDramaRomance

A fragile Kansas girl's unrequited and forbidden love for a handsome young man from the town's most powerful family drives her to heartbreak and madness.

The Last Tycoon

The Last Tycoon · 1976

The Last Tycoon

MovieDramaRomance

Monroe Stahr, a successful movie producer, pursues a beautiful and elusive young woman — all the while working himself to death.

A Face in the Crowd

A Face in the Crowd · 1957

A Face in the Crowd

The rise of a raucous hayseed named Lonesome Rhodes from itinerant Ozark guitar picker to local media rabble-rouser to TV superstar and political king-maker. Marcia Jeffries is the innocent Sarah Lawrence girl who discovers the great man in a back-country jail and is the first to fall under his spell.

Gentleman's Agreement

Gentleman's Agreement · 1947

Gentleman's Agreement

A magazine writer poses as a Jew to expose anti-Semitism.

Viva Zapata!

Viva Zapata! · 1952

MovieHistoryDrama

The story of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, who led a rebellion against the corrupt, oppressive dictatorship of president Porfirio Díaz in the early 20th century.

Filmography

Sort

East of Eden

East of Eden · 1955

In the Salinas Valley in and around World War I, Cal Trask feels he must compete against overwhelming odds with his brother for the love of their father. Cal is frustrated at every turn, from his reaction to the war, how to get ahead in business and in life, and how to relate to his estranged mother.

Director

A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire · 1951

A Streetcar Named Desire

MovieDramaThriller

A disturbed, aging Southern belle moves in with her sister for solace — but being face-to-face with her brutish brother-in-law accelerates her downward spiral.

Director

On the Waterfront

On the Waterfront · 1954

On the Waterfront

MovieCrimeDrama

A prizefighter-turned-longshoreman with a conscience goes up against labor leaders to expose corruption, extortion, and murder among the union ranks.

Director

Splendor in the Grass

Splendor in the Grass · 1961

Splendor in the Grass

MovieDramaRomance

A fragile Kansas girl's unrequited and forbidden love for a handsome young man from the town's most powerful family drives her to heartbreak and madness.

Director

The Last Tycoon

The Last Tycoon · 1976

The Last Tycoon

MovieDramaRomance

Monroe Stahr, a successful movie producer, pursues a beautiful and elusive young woman — all the while working himself to death.

Director

A Face in the Crowd

A Face in the Crowd · 1957

A Face in the Crowd

The rise of a raucous hayseed named Lonesome Rhodes from itinerant Ozark guitar picker to local media rabble-rouser to TV superstar and political king-maker. Marcia Jeffries is the innocent Sarah Lawrence girl who discovers the great man in a back-country jail and is the first to fall under his spell.

Director

Gentleman's Agreement

Gentleman's Agreement · 1947

Gentleman's Agreement

A magazine writer poses as a Jew to expose anti-Semitism.

Director

Viva Zapata!

Viva Zapata! · 1952

MovieHistoryDrama

The story of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, who led a rebellion against the corrupt, oppressive dictatorship of president Porfirio Díaz in the early 20th century.

Director

Baby Doll

Baby Doll · 1956

Archie Lee Meighan is a failing cotton gin owner who is married to Baby Doll, a 19-year old childlike beauty whose father arranged the marriage for financial reasons. As Archie awaits the arrival of Baby Doll's 20th birthday, the day that they are supposed to consummate their marriage, he faces interference from business rival Silva Vacarro, who plots to seduce Baby Doll away from Meighan.

Director

Panic in the Streets

Panic in the Streets · 1950

Panic in the Streets

MovieThrillerCrime

A medical examiner discovers that an innocent shooting victim in a robbery died of bubonic plague. With only 48 hours to find the killer, who is now a ticking time bomb threatening the entire city, a grisly manhunt through the seamy underworld of the New Orleans Waterfront is underway.

Director

Pinky

Pinky, a light skinned black woman, returns to her grandmother's house in the South after graduating from a Northern nursing school. Pinky tells her grandmother that she has been "passing" for white while at school in the North. In addition, she has fallen in love with a young white doctor, who knows nothing about her black heritage.

Director

The Arrangement

The Arrangement · 1969

The Arrangement

MovieDramaRomance

An adman attempts to rebuild his shattered life after suffering a nervous breakdown.

Writer

America America

America America · 1963

America America

MovieDramaHistory

A young Anatolian Greek, entrusted with his family's fortune, loses it en route to Istanbul and dreams of going to America.

Producer

Wild River

Wild River · 1960

MovieDramaRomance

A young bureaucrat for the Tennessee Valley Authority goes to rural Tennessee to oversee the building of a dam. He encounters opposition from the local people, in particular a farmer who objects to his employment (with pay) of local black laborers. Much of the plot revolves around the eviction of a stubborn octogenarian from her home on an island in the river, and the young man's love affair with that woman's widowed granddaughter. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation.

Director

City for Conquest

City for Conquest · 1940

City for Conquest

MovieRomanceDrama

The heartbreaking but hopeful tale of Danny Kenny and Peggy Nash, two sweethearts who meet and struggle through their impoverished lives in New York City. When Peggy, hoping for something better in life for both of them, breaks off her engagement to Danny, he sets out to be a championship boxer, while she becomes a dancer paired with a sleazy partner. Will tragedy reunite the former lovers?

'Googi'

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn · 1945

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

In Brooklyn circa 1900, the Nolans manage to enjoy life on pennies despite great poverty and Papa's alcoholism. We come to know these people well through big and little troubles: Aunt Sissy's scandalous succession of "husbands"; the removal of the one tree visible from their tenement; and young Francie's desire to transfer to a better school...if irresponsible Papa can get his act together.

Director

Man on a Tightrope

Man on a Tightrope · 1953

Man on a Tightrope

MovieDramaThriller

The owner of an impoverished circus in Communist-ruled Czechoslovokia plots to flee across the border to freedom, taking his entire troupe of performers and wild animals with him.

Director

The Sea of Grass

The Sea of Grass · 1947

The Sea of Grass

MovieDramaWestern

On America's frontier, a St. Louis woman marries a New Mexico cattleman who is seen as a tyrant by the locals.

Director

Blues in the Night

Blues in the Night · 1941

Blues in the Night

MovieCrimeDrama

A struggling band find themselves attached to a fugitive and drawn into a series of old feuds and love affairs, as they try to stay together and find musical success.

Nickie Haroyen

Boomerang!

Boomerang! · 1947

MovieDramaMystery

When a kindly priest is murdered while waiting at a street corner in a quiet Connecticut town, the citizens are horrified and demand action from the police. All of the witnesses identify John Waldron, a nervous out-of-towner, as the killer. District Attorney Henry Harvey is then put on the case and faces political opposition in his attempt to prove Waldron's innocence.

Director

People of the Cumberland

People of the Cumberland · 1937

People of the Cumberland

MovieDocumentary

The film takes place in rural Tennessee, where communities have experienced economic and environmental devastation created by the coal mining industry. The introduction of the Highlander Folk School in 1931 by educator Myles Horton and the movement to bring labor union representation to the region are shown as means of empowering the population. Efforts are made to stop the union activities with the murder of a local organizer, but eventually the union movement is able to take root with the local workforce.

Assistant Director

The Visitors

The Visitors · 1972

MovieDramaCrime

Bill, Martha and their little child Hal are spending a quiet winter Sunday in their cosy house when they get an unexpected visit from Mike Nickerson and Tony Rodriguez. Mike and Tony are old acquaintances of Bill; a few years back, in Vietnam, they were in the same platoon. They also became opposed parties in a court martial - for a reason that Bill never explained to Martha. What happened in Vietnam, and what is the reason for the presence of Mike and Tony ?

Director

Mist

Two Turkish brothers find themselves on opposite sides of the political fence. When one of the brothers is murdered, the boys' father suspects that his surviving son was instrumental in the killing. Celebrated film director Elia Kazan returns to his acting roots in a key supporting role.

Old man in the coffee house

The Making of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

The Making of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn · 2019

The Making of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

MovieDocumentary

explores the production of the film with interviews with those involved. The historical significance is similarly discussed. Includes interviews with Ted Donaldson (the actor who performed the part of Neeley Nolan), Richard Schickel (author of "Elia Kazan: A Portrait"), stage director Norman Lloyd, and several clips from archival interviews with director Elia Kazan himself